* Facebook ‘fuels divorce’
Lawyers blamed Facebook for almost one in five of online divorce petitions, saying the social networking site, which connects old friends and allows users to make new ones online, was behind the increase increasing number of marital breakdowns and the temptation for people to cheat on their partners.
* Facebook leads ‘children to suicide’
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, warned that Facebook encouraged teenagers to view friendship as a “commodity” and was leading them to suicide. It was, he argued, one of the many social networking sites that led teenagers to build “transient relationships”, leaving them unable to cope when their network collapse.
* Facebook ‘killing off traditional sayings’
The social networking site was blamed for the slow death of British sayingssuch as “a little birdie told me” and “hold your horses”. In a survey on communication trend researchers found phrases commonly used by parents and grandparents were disappearing.
* Facebook blamed for ‘rickets surge’
Facebook has been blamed for the surge in the number of children suffering from rickets. Researchers writing in the British Medical Journal found the social networking site, and computer games had led to the disease, caused by chronic vitamin D deficiencies, which can be triggered by long periods out of natural sunlight and a poor diet, being “disturbingly common” among British children.
* Facebook ‘turning Britons into introverts’
A study from Mintel, the market research company, found more than half of adults who use sites such as Facebook admitted they spent more time chatting online than they did actually speaking to friends and family. Researchers also found users made fewer phone calls, sent fewer texts and emails, watched less television and spent less time playing computer games because of their online habit.
* Facebook ‘makes partners jealous’
University of Guelph researchers found Facebook use increased jealousy in relationships, amid greater social exchanges with friends and previous partners. They found that the more time one person spends online on the social networking site monitoring his or her partner, the more suspicious that person becomes.
* Facebook ‘challenges legal restrictions’
In the wake of the Baby P case, legal restrictions that banned the naming of Tracy Connelly, Peter’s mother and Steven Barker, her boyfriend, provoked a furious backlash on the site. Facebook campaigners challenged their right to anonymity while several sites were set up to fight for “justice for Baby P”. There were concerns that some of the groups could lead to their trial being aborted amid fears they would not get a fair hearing.
* More middle-aged people ‘learning to love’ Facebook
But despite perceived problems, Ofcom, the communications regulator, found more middle-aged people are logging on to social networking sites such as Facebook in ever larger numbers. It found the phenomenon of signing up for social networking sites had “begun to mature”, with the number of 35 to 54-year-olds accessing such sites jumping by 25 per cent over the past year alone.
* Facebook makes users ‘feel unattractive’
Millions of Facebook users say they avoid uploading photos and remove their name from all pictures of them on the site because they feel too fat, old or ugly. A survey found almost one in two people admitted to leaving out pictures from their “fat days” when uploading pictures to their online profile.
* MI6 chief Sir John Sawers ‘compromised by wife’s Facebook page’
Sir John Sawers, the new head of MI6, was left exposed in a potential security breach after his wife, Lady Shelley Sawers, published intimate photographs and family details on Facebook. Sir John who became chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in November was left embarrassed after his wife’s entries on the social networking site detailed where they lived and worked, who their friends were and where they spent their holidays.
Facebook: what social networking site ‘is blamed for’ amid syphilis claims – Telegraph.
